Gallery blooms in downtown Vista

VISTA  Nearly a year after opening in downtown Vista, the ArtBeat on Main Street gallery has become a hub for local artists and art lovers, and is now setting its sights on wine lovers and foodies.

After recently gaining city permission last week to sell wine, ArtBeat is planning to add a cafe inside its space at 330 Main Street.

“I just think it’s going get better and better,” said Kait Matthews, ArtBeat’s co-owner. “We just want it to be a positive space for people who are interested in art and artists.”

On Tuesday, the City Council approved a cabaret license that will allow the gallery to sell wine and offer live, acoustic music during monthly artist receptions. Although there is no set date, the cafe could open in August, said Kris Petersen, also a co-owner.

Local artists praised the gallery as part of the city’s downtown renaissance, along with the various restaurants, shops and pubs that have opened along the quaint corridor in recent years.

“I’m so excited about this gallery and these two gals are just amazing,” said Carole Lee, an artist and Vista resident of more than 60 years. “Among all the other things that are happening in downtown, it just seems that all of a sudden Vista is blooming.”

Matthews and Petersen decided to open ArtBeat last year after the Vista Art Foundation lost its lease with its another space, Gallery 204. Both women were members of the gallery and wanted to open a new place where artists could continue to exhibit and sell their work.

“We just decided that we needed a place to hang our art and we wanted to incorporate other artists,” Petersen said. “And really we got exactly what we wanted.”

Petersen, who specializes in abstract painting, said she studied art in Florida but put her work “on the back burner” to raise her daughter in the 1970s. She took up painting and studying again about nine years ago, she said.

Matthews, a native of Toronto, studied art in Orange County and specializes in illustrations.

Petersen said she met Matthews during a homeowners’ association meeting about four years ago, shortly after Matthews moved to Vista.

Peterson decided to show Matthews around town and the two became friends.

The gallery they started now features the art of more than 30 artists, including painters, photographers and jewelry makers.

Within the gallery’s 3,800 square foot space, there is a boutique, an outdoor patio and some smaller showrooms.

On any given day, there are workshops for aspiring artists, professional artists hanging their work on the walls and even morning yoga classes.

“I love this space,” said Margaret Chiaro, an Oceanside artist and yoga instructor, who had just finished a yoga session on Friday morning. “It’s beautiful and it’s a cooperative so everybody pitches in.”

For more information on the gallery, visit www.artbeatonmainstreet.com.